Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From? A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes. Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow down or shoot high into the air. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to beautify their fountains.
To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. To mark the entryway of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the building of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.
The Godfather Of Roman Water Fountains
The Godfather Of Roman Water Fountains There are countless renowned fountains in the city center of Rome. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the greatest sculptors and artists of the 17th century planned, created and produced virtually all of them. His skills as a fountain developer and also as a city architect, are visible all through the roads of Rome. Bernini's father, a celebrated Florentine sculptor, mentored his young son, and they ultimately relocated in Rome, to thoroughly exhibit their artwork in the form of community water fountains and water fountains. An outstanding employee, Bernin received encouragement and the patronage of popes and important painters. He was originally renowned for his sculpture. An expert in historical Greek architecture, he utilized this knowledge as a foundation and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most remarkably in the Vatican. He was affected by many a great artists, however, Michelangelo had the biggest impact on his work.
Agrippa’s Intriguing Water-lifting Machine
Agrippa’s Intriguing Water-lifting Machine Unfortunately, Agrippa’s excellent design for raising water was not discussed a lot following 1588, when Andrea Bacci acknowledged it in public. Only years later, in 1592, the early contemporary Roman conduit, the Acqua Felice, was hooked up to the Medici’s villa, possibly making the device obsolete. Its application might have been short but Camillo Agrippa’s creation had a prominent place in history as the most remarkable water-lifting device of its type in Italy prior to the contemporary era. There may have been other significant water-related works in Renaissance landscapes in the later part of the sixteenth century, like water fountains which played music, water caprices (or giochi d’acqua) and even scenographic water presentations, but none of them were powered by water that defied the force of gravity.
